Will Ooredoo rollout in August?

Carson Wolfer, head of business development, partnerships and CSR at Ooredoo Myanmar, has described how they are progressing at CommunicAsia.

The lack of roads, electricity and fibre is well-documented, but even the mundane aspects of setting up a company, such as setting up bank accounts and trying to pay employees are more difficult in Myanmar, Wolfer said.

“It is still early days for the government,” he said.

Ooredoo plans to launch its HSPA+ network in the cities of Mandalay, Naypyitaw and Yangon in the third quarter. The terms of its licence dictate that its network must cover 97% of the population within five years. This year alone, the company is ploughing $1 billion of direct capex, opex and licence fees into Myanmar.

“The demand in metro areas is well established,” said Wolfer. However, just 2 kilometres outside Ooredoo’s three launch cities, “no one has handsets”, he said.